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What a glorious day in this beautiful, gentle country. The weather has been so cooperative. Continuing west on the East-West Highway into the further and higher reaches of the Park, we start birding just as dawn breaks. Sangay is expert at navigating the windy road; I have utter confidence in him and ignore the steep slopes on either side of us. Clouds roll in and out of the mountains, the sun hits outer reaches of valleys. Rainbows glisten in front of high waterfalls.
Our first special bird today is the Ward's Trogon. He doesn't sit still long, but we get several full views. He has a deep salmon/coral head with tinges along the tail. Beautiful as he flies across the road. The rhododendrons have returned at these higher elevations. Pops of white, the bushes are really the size of small trees and should be spectacular in a couple of weeks covering mountainsides. As we climb, the red blossoms appear and cover more of the shrubs.
Today is a special day. One of the reincarnated monks is travelling along this road visiting East Bhutan. There are perhaps more than 15 reincarnated monks alive in Bhutan today. The process for identifying them is mystifying: a 3-4 year old child may exhibit knowledge beyond his years. Brought to the attention of an abbot, he would be tested to see if he could identify legitimate from fake objects from a deceased monk. Some reincarnations might not occur for centuries. If legitimate, the child is raised in a monastery accompanied by his parents if desired. Monks spend much of their time meditating. The monk travelling today has been called to the east to give some teachings. Local people along the route do special things in hopes of the monk stopping and giving them a blessing.
When we arrive at our breakfast site (8000'), a beautiful enclosure has been built for the monk to eat lunch in. We get to use it. The table is set inside a ring of bamboo and ferns with prayer flag standards. Further up the road (8400') by a shrine, decorative rugs and a special chair have been set along the road for the monk to stop and relax. A fire burns from old prayer flags, cedar and rhodo leaves. Men await the arrival of the monk, one keeping tabs of his progress by cell phone. By 1:30, after our lunch, his caravan of four cars passes us. We can see in and wave to them all. Everyone is smiling, maybe he is blessing us! How special; traveling monks are not a common sight.
Above 9000' clouds roll in, thunder and we get a steady rain. Afterwards we get a view of the Satyr Tragopan, a spectacular pheasant-type bird. The male is a rich deep red, his chest speckled with white, made more stunning in sunlight. This tops off a memorable day.
Our final night camping is in the heart of the mountains in a field under a sky full of stars. Nearing 10,000 feet, it is 42 degrees right now inside our tent, but no rain and no wind. We have lots of layers. It is virtually silent, a forest of prayer flags stands nearby in full moonlight. How lucky we are to be here.
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